Apparatus for operating bulkhead-doors.



H. M. GLEASON.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1906. RENEWED JULY 21,1914.

1,131,832, Patented Mar.16, 1915.

I 5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

I WITNESSES INVENTOR m y 1 f z y m6- L HTTUHNEV.

H. M. GLEASON. APPARATUS FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD Dooas. APPLICATION FILEDAUG. 21, 1906. RENEWED JULY 21,1914. 1,131,832 Patented Mar.16,1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

"WITNESSES.- INVENTOR $W816-5QM0m I Br I TTURNEY.

H. M. GLEASON.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1906. RENEWED JULY 21,1914.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

5 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVEIV TOR A TTORNEY.

if AM A WITNESSES H. M; GLEASON.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG. 21, 1906. RENEWED JULY 21,1914.

Patented Mar'.16, 1915.

5 SHEETS-*SHEET 4.

INVENTOB @Wamm ATTORNEY.

wmvsssss H. M. GLEASON.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING BULKHEAD DOORS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.21, 1906. RENEWED JULY 21,1914.

1,131,832, Patented Mar.16,1915.

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UNITED STATES FATENT FFIGE.

HENRY M. GLEASON, OF PEEPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

Application filed August 21,

To all whom it may concern":

Be it known that I, HENRY M. GLnA'sON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphla and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for OperatingBulkhead-Doors, of which the following 1s a specification. h

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for operating bulkheaddoors by electricity, and while being designed esp'e-' cially for use onboard ships, it may be used to advantage on bulkheads in buildin'gs,caissons, theaters, etc. I

The object of my invention to provide a watertight door that iscapablejof 'qu1ck and easy action by hand, and at the same time capableof being closed b electric power either at the door itself or rom somedesired station in the ship.

The most common form of watertight bulkhead doors for use in the lowercom partments of a. ship, is of the vertical slid ing type. These doorsas at present fitted for electrical operation are very difiicult andtedious to operate by hand. The mechanism is also very intricate andtroublesome to keep in working condition. To do away with thesedifiiculties, I provide a mechanism simplified as much as possible. Theweight of the door is balanced by the action of a spring. This featureeliminates all work in operating the door except friction of theoperating parts, and inertia of the door.

My invention comprises improved means whereby the door is always readyfor 0105-- ing or opening easily and quickly by hand power.

My invention also comprises improved means whereby the door is primarilyhand operated and also capable of operation by electricity from a chosenstation in cases of emergency.

My invention also comprises improved means whereby the motor works atits maximum efficiency by not having a constant resistance in serieswith it, and at the same time is-prot'ected froni excessive rise ofcurrent at starting or an other time;

My invention also comprises improved means whereby th action of thespring and requires a very small amount of power to operate it.

'My invention also i roved vertical section on line a-a and part 1;.diners Balanc d by the APPARATUS FOR ormmrrivo sunmanlnoons.

Patented Mar. 16, 1-915.

1506, ass 1%. also. assess-a tiny a1, 1914. Serial No. 852,312.

Referring to the drawings :Figure l is a front elevation of my device. 2is a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line b'b of Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a view in part elevation section of the automatically operatedswitch at the bulkhead do'or.' Fig. 5 is an elevation of the motor andassociated mechanism. Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation through the ofdoor and frame showing the device for making the electrical contactwhich indicates when the door is closed. Fig. 7 is averueal section orthe handcrank mechanism. Fig. 8 is a plan View anuh'ori'zontal sectionon line o0 of 7 of the hand-orank mechanism. Fig. 9 is a Similarnumerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The movable member orvdoor 1, is held in position against the bulkhead 3by the frame 2, on which-are located the lugs 5, which engage or bearagainst the wedges 6 forming part of the door. The frame 2 is carriedabove the opening in the bulkhead in the form of guide 24 to which aresecured the box 22 containing the motor and its controlling appliances;At the top of the door frame is placed the girder 4 which carries thenecessary gears, and to wedge the top of the 'door against the frame;

The door is balanced by means of the spring 25, which'tends to turn thegrooved drum 20 in such manner as to cause sufiicient tension on the.wire rope 23 to sustain said door. The spring 25 is shown to operateunder torsion. It is prevented from turning at one endby the base andbracket 26 to which it is secured; The other end of the spring isattached to the grooved drum or fus'ee 20 on which is wound the wirerope 23; The grooves in the drum or fusee 20 are run spirally iip'on thesurface of said drum; This feature insures a constant pull or tension,-equal to the weight of the door, on the wire rope 23 which is secured tothe door; Wheh t e sprin l is under maximum torsion the leverage a theWire rope over the drum is a minimum, and vice versa. Stops 44 securedto the bulkhead are provided to limit the vertical travel of the doorwhen the same is opened.

8, which is on .the same shaft as the spur- -gear 9 and the bevel gear11, engages in the worm rack 7 on the door. The motor operated shaft 12,carries the spurgcar 10, which 10 engages with gear 9. The bevel gear 13on shaft 14 engages with bevel gear 11. The bevel gear 15, on shaft 14,engages with bevel gear 16 on shaft 17. Shaft 17 also carries the bevelgear 18 which engages with bevel gear 19. Bevel gear 19 is operated bythe hand-crank 84 as fully described hereinafter. The operating switch21 for closing the door by the electric motor is fully described later.

Referring to Figs. 5 and 6 shaft .12 previously mentioned passes througha stuffing box in the box 22, and terminates in the gear wheel 28 whichengages the pinion 29 on the motor shaft 37. The motor 27 as shown is ofthe shunt wound type, but series or compound Wound motors may be used ifdesired. Keyed and fixed to the motor shaft is the apparatus forcarrying the governor balls 33. The

30 upper end of support for the balls is provided with a sleeve which isnot free to rotate, but is free to move up or down under the controllingaction of either the balls in rotation or the spring 34. The lever 36 35which is pivoted against the box 22 is actuated around this pivot by theupward or downward motion of the sleeve 35. As the lever 36 is swung upor down different contacts of the starting resistance 38 are 40 broughtinto connection. The overload resistance 39, the connections for whichare shown, is connected to the contacts 32 as shown in the wiringdiagram, Fig. 9. The starting resistance 38 and the overload resistance39, though separate are contained in one form or frame. Theelectro-magnet 30 is of the plunger type. The lower end of the plungeris formed of suitable conducting material which when in connection with32 forms practically a short circuit.

The movable core or plunger is held in contact by its own weight. Theoperation of the parts above mentioned will be described in connectionwith Fig. 9.

Fig. 6 shows the device for making electrical contact when the door isclosed. The

receptacle 40, is of the usual type of contact makers. The contact ismade when the door is closed, by the action of the lug 42 on the door 1,bearing against the pivoted lever 41 which causes the stud 43 to bearagainst a diaphragm in 40.

Referring to Figs. 7 and 8 the bevel gear 18 fixed on the shaft 17,meshes with gear B5 19 which "is loose (n the shaft 48. On the Referringto Figs. 1, 2 and 3 worm gear 1 clutch 50. The cam 50 engages the cam 52in such manner that when 52 is rotated ninety degrees in eitherdirection, the shaft 48 is thrust to the right until the stop 72 on 50engages 70 on 52. When this occurs the shaft 48, which has hitherto beenprevented from turning by 49 engaging with 46, is free to turn with thecrank 84 on the shaft 48 to which 52 is keyed and secured. The, spring51 is secured to both 50 and 52 and is designed to operate under torsionin such manner that the stop 70 on 52 is free of the cam face 73 or 74on 50 when the crank 84 9 is not being operated. The gear wheel 54 onthe shaft55 is provided to make the apparatus capable of operation fromeither side of the bulkhead 3. The pivoted lever 57 is operated by thelateral movement of 50, which causes 58 to be pulled to the left, andthe electric current cut ofi from the. motor. The box or case 21contains the ap paratus for controlling the electric supply to themotor. The electrical connections are shownin the wiring diagram, Fig.11. The electro'magnet 62, has a hinged armature which is connected toone end of the lever 66 pivoted and fixed on 60 which connects to theoperating handle 59 as shown in Fig. 8.. This same end of the lever 66is con nected to 58 which is operated by the appa ratus previouslydescribed.- The spring 68 tends to keep the lever 66 in such positionthat the electric contact 67 will be broken. At the lower end of thelever 66; a piston 63 is attached which works in a cylinder 69. A valve65', prevents the escape of air when the piston is moved to the left,but allows the free entrance of air'whenthe piston is moved to theright. The valve 64 is provided to regulate the escape of air when thepiston is moved to the left. a v

The operation of the apparatus is as follows :When an electric currentflows 125, through the electro-magnet the armature 61 y is pulledagainst the poles of the magnet, causing the contact .67 to be made. Atthe same time the piston 63 compresses the air in=the cylinder and-after forcing all of the air out through the valve 64, the contact ismade. This feature is for the purpose of regulating'the time ofoperation of the op erating switches at the various doors throughout theship in such manner that 18s all doors will not close at the sameinstant and cause an abnormal fluctuation of current from the dynamos. 1

Having described the drawings in detail, the operation of the systemwill be best understood by referring to the wiring diagram, Fig. 11.Supposing that the door is open, and the emergency switch and operatingswitch are then open, which willbe the condition in actual service. Toclose the door from the pilot house, close the emergency switch 77 thisthrows current through the electro-magnet 62 at the door. The armature61 of the electro-magnet is drawn toward its poles and the lever 66closes the operating switch. This allows current from the line to passthrough the plunger magnet 30, through the contacts 32, through all ofthe starting resistance 38 to the motor. As the motor gathers speed theaction of the governor gradually cuts out resistance until at full speedthe resistance is all or practically all cut out. The door is closed bythe motor operating through the shaft 12 and connectingmechanism. At theinstant the door closes the current will rise unless some means isprovided to obviate it. This is done by the springBA, see Fig. 5, which,when the motor is at rest, acts upon the lever 36 and cuts in resistanceto protect the motor.- A further safety device is provided in theplunger electro-magnet 30. The line current flows through its coils, andwhen the current has reached a predetermined limit the plunger 31 israised, and the current is then forced to pass through the overloadresistance 39. This reduces the current and protects the motoras well asthe dynamo. The plunger 31 will fall intoits place as soon as thecurrent becomes less than the prescribed limit. It will be seen that thedoor is now closed and the current will flow through the motor as longas the emergency switch is keptclosed. If by any chance a man should beshut within the compartment and desires to escape while (or after) thedoor is being closed, he can open the door readily by hand as follows:-Turn the hand-crank to the right say ninety degrees, this will firstcut oif the current from the motor by the action' of the lever 57, Fig.8, previously described, and at the same time will throw the clutch into connect the handcrank and gears with the gear 19, see Figs. 1 and 7.The door may then be opened by hand power. When the hand-crank isreleased by the operator the action of the springs 51 and 47, Fig. 7,will throw the clutch out and the hand-crank will be then disconnectedfrom the gear 19. At the same time the action of the electro-magnet 62will cause current to pass to the motor and the door will immediately beclosed by electric power. It may be noted that the action of the motorand its train of gearing is independent of the hand-crank and its gears.

Just at the instant the door closes the contact maker 10, causes currentto flow to the indicator in the pilot house, lighting an incandescentlamp that indicates the closing of the door.

The above description applies to only one door,but a number of doors maybe operated by closing the emergency switch.

What I claim is 1. The combination of a vertically movable bulkhead doorfor ships, a counterbalance therefor, manually operated mechanism andmotor actuated mechanism, each adapted to operate independently of theother, for moving said door.

2. The combination of a vertically movable bulkhead door for ships,spring means for exerting a counterbalancing effect thereon, manuallyoperative mechanism and motor actuated mechanism, each adapted tooperate independently of the other, for moving said door.

3. In combination with a vertically movable bulkhead door, acounterbalance therefor, mechanism for operating said door, an electriccircuit, a motor in said circuit for actuating the said door operatingmechanism, means for arbitrarily controlling the circuit of the motor ata distance therefrom, and means at the door for retarding the arbitrarycontrol of the motor from a distance.

4. In combination with a vertically movable bulkhead door, acounterbalance therefor, mechanism for operating said door, an electriccircuit, a motor in said circuit for actuating thesaid door operatingmechanism, hand operated means for actuating said door operatingmechanism and at the same time cuttin out of circuit the motor.

5. In combination with a vertically movable bulkhead door, acounterbalance therefor, mechanism for operating said door, an electriccircuit, a motor in said circuit for actuating the said door operatingmechanism, hand operated means for actuating said door operatingmechanism and at the same time cutting out of circuit the motor, andmeans for automatically returning the motor into circuit when force iswithdrawn from the hand operated mechanism.

HENRY M. GLEASON.

